Barbacoa
Short Ribs
Overview
Let’s talk meat. There are very few weeks in the month where my family DOES NOT celebrate Taco Tuesday or Taco Thursday (if we in fact missed Taco Tuesday, we move it to Thursday, if we miss both…then I will never hear the end of it from my daughter).
But the typical beef or turkey tacos can get a little stale for my husband and myself. In the summer and spring we like to do fish tacos. And there’s also always steak tacos and chicken tacos. But I wanted something richer in flavor for the freaking COLD weather lately in Boston. This is a stick to your ribs type of dish and is easy to make, it just takes a while of non cooking time. They’d be great in a taco or burrito, or on top of some rice and beans. OR you could take your extras and make nachos OR just use it as a meat dip. Meat dip (Exhibit A, below).
Exhibit A, Meat Dip If you’re looking for a spicy and sweet and full of flavor protein to go with your burritos, tacos, nachos or, uh, meat dip, here’s your recipe.
Serves: 4 entreé sizes portions
Hi, I’m Jackie, Founder of Jackie Cooks and Drinks, and a BIG believer that cooking, creating and entertaining should be FUN.
shopping list
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1 tablespoon of vegetable oil for the dutch oven
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About 5-6 beef short ribs, boneless or bone in, does not matter.
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1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
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5 garlic cloves
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5 teaspoons ground cumin
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2 teaspoons chili powder
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1 teaspoon kosher salt
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1/2 teaspoon black pepper
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3 chipotles in adobo sauce plus about 1 tablespoon of the sauce
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1.5 limes, juiced
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1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
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1 cups beef bone broth
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1 bottle of Fat Tire beer or a similar amber
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2 tablespoons brown sugar
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3-4 tablespoons of cornstarch + cooking liquid to make a slurry
method
- Season the beef with salt and pepper. Pour about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Brown the beef on all sides. Get a nice golden crust on the beef.
- While the beef is browning, place the apple cider vinegar, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, garlic cloves, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, ground cloves, lime juice, bone broth, and brown sugar in either a food processor or a blender and blend to combine.
- Pour this mixture on top of the beef ribs.
- Add the beer to the beef and spices and bring to a boil. Put a lid on it.
- Let this cook for as short as 3 hours or as long as 6-8*. A quick note on the brown sugar… If you find your dish smells or tastes too vinegar-y (real term, I swear), add a touch more brown sugar, a little at a time, until the desired sweetness. This balances the flavor out. In a slow cooker, you’ll want to cook this 6-8 hours on low.
- When done cooking, remove the beef from the pot and remove the bones if needed. Chop the beef up into bite sized pieces.
- Meanwhile, bring the liquid up to a boil and take about 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid and mix together with the cornstarch. Whisk the slurry together and add back into the pot and whisk. Bring to a boil and add the meat back in. When the mixture looks combined and thick, it’s ready to serve.
- Using a slotted spoon, spoon mixture into hard or soft corn shells, with lettuce, tomato, and shredded cheese, or in a bowl with some chips and lime wedges.
NOTE! You can use the Instant Pot. Just cook on high pressure for 45 min- 1 hour!
Barbacoa Short Ribs
Equipment
- Slow cCooker
- Instant Pot
- dutch oven
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil for the dutch oven
- 5-6 beef short ribs, boneless or bone in, does not matter
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 5 large garlic cloves
- 5 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3 chipotles in adobo sauce plus about 1 tablespoon of the sauce
- 1.5 limes, juiced
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1 cup beef bone broth
- 1 12 oz bottle Fat Tire beer or a similar amber
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 3-4 tbsp cornstarch + cooking liquid to make a slurry
Instructions
- Season the beef with salt and pepper. Pour about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Brown the beef on all sides. Get a nice golden crust on the beef.
- While the beef is browning, place the apple cider vinegar, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, garlic cloves, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, ground cloves, lime juice, bone broth, and brown sugar in either a food processor or a blender and blend to combine.
- Pour the mixture on top of the beef ribs.
- Add the beer to the beef and spices and bring to a boil. Put a lid on it. Let this cook for as short as 3 hours or as long as 6-8.
- A quick note on the brown sugar… If you find your dish smells or tastes too vinegar-y (real term, I swear), add a touch more brown sugar, a little at a time, until the desired sweetness. This balances the flavor out.
- In a slow cooker, you’ll want to cook this 6-8 hours on low.* see note
- When done cooking, remove the beef from the pot and remove the bones if needed. Chop the beef up into bite sized pieces.
- Meanwhile, bring the liquid up to a boil and take about 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid and mix together with the cornstarch. Whisk the slurry together and add back into the pot and whisk.
- Bring to a boil and add the meat back in. When the mixture looks combined and thick, it’s ready to serve.
- Using a slotted spoon, spoon mixture into hard or soft corn shells, with lettuce, tomato, and shredded cheese, or in a bowl with some chips and lime wedges.
- NOTE! You can use the Instant Pot. Just cook on high pressure for 45 min- 1 hour!